Access to comprehensive services and support for those on the autism spectrum could use drastic improvement — and Hillary Clinton is looking to make that overhaul a campaign priority.

Clinton announced a new series of proposals on Tuesday designed to support individuals living with autism, especially focusing on adults and underserved communities living with the disorder. The extensive initiative tackles health services, employment disparities and early diagnosis efforts as a way to better serve those on the spectrum.

The Democratic frontrunner will announce the plan in detail to supporters during a town hall in Iowa Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Clinton campaign, Clinton's plan focuses on helping adults living with autism ​access meaningful employment​, fair income and access to opportunity.

More than 50% of adults with autism do not obtain employment or pursue higher education in the two years following high school graduation. The proposal looks to close these gaps with an initiative called Autism Works, creating a post-graduation transition plan for students with autism aging out of school-based services, including a partnership with employers to help encourage access to meaningful employment opportunities — especially those that provide income at or above minimum wage, which can often be hard to find for those with autism.

Clinton also announced her support for the Transition to Independence Act, a bill proposing to use Medicaid dollars to incentivize states to expand fair employment opportunities and services to those on the autism spectrum.

Beyond increasing employment opportunities, Clinton’s announcement includes plans to improve awareness of childhood symptoms and accessibility to screenings to insure families are given access to autism-related support services post-diagnosis. This will push private insurers to include autism-related health services in their coverage, and to expand safety and legal protections for those living with the disorder.

Clinton also proposes funding autism prevalence surveys focused on adults, which is a departure from the usual surveys focused on children, to help find out how to best support their needs and success.

My vote is undecided. But as a parent to a child with autism, it feels like Hillary Clinton just reached out to me & held my hand.

The increased access and support is much needed for individuals living with autism — a population estimated to be more than 3.5 million nationwide. About 1 in every 68 people in the U.S. is born with autism spectrum disorder, according to the CDC, with the disorder named the fastest growing developmental disability in the U.S.

But it is a disorder that is widely misunderstood, a fact that has already been reflected in presidential debates this campaign cycle. In the second Republican debate on Sept. 16, Clinton’s rival candidates Ben Carson and Donald Trump both asserted vaccines could be a root cause of an autism diagnosis — a myth widely debunked by medical research.

In a press call on Tuesday, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D.-Pa.), who is the co-chairman of the Congressional Autism Caucus, said the proposal would help foster a society where every person living with autism has access to services and opportunities that will enable them to live up to their full potential.

“I’ve often said that children with disabilities — individuals with disabilities — have a lot of ability,” Casey said in the call. “We just need to give them the tools and the supports to lead full lives.”

Casey added: “One of the best proposals that any of us will see on any topic during the presidential campaign is the one Hillary Clinton has laid out for individuals with autism and their families.”

Ari Ne'eman, president and cofounder of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, said the proposal was developed in “significant consultation with autistic people” with many parts of the proposal coming directly from the community — a fact he said is rare.

Ne'eman added the proposal highlights disparities within the autism community that have long existed, such as who receives early diagnosis and service access. He said Clinton's plan comprehensively acknowledges these diagnostic and service inequalities that exist, especially on the basis of race, gender and income.

“Very often when we talk about autism in the public, it’s done with the assumption that we are thinking about the prototypical Caucasian, upper-middle class boy," he said. "This plan really reflects the diversity of the autism world in a way that very few conversations on autism have.”

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